Joint for golf clubs and the like



Oct 27, 1942- J. ,1. BIRKHOFER `JOINT FOR GOLF CLUBS AND THE LIKE FiledOct. 3l, 1940 ATTORNEYS.

lllllll l I Y:

, companying drawing forming a which shows, merely for the purposes ofillustra- 55 neck end I 5.

Patented Oct. 27, 1942 `2,299,735 y JoINT Fon GOLF CLUBS AND THE LIKEJohn J. Birkhofer, Union,

Kroydon Co. Inc., tion of New Jersey N. J., assigner to The Maplewood,N. J., a corpora- Appiicarion october 31, 1940', serial No. 363,601 5claims. A.(01. 27a-so) The present invention relates to joint structureand more particularly to means ferrand a method of joining two pari-limplements such as golf clubs or the like having a wooden part and ametal part which must be joined securely.

In golf clubs or other similar sports implements embodying a Wooden headmember carried by a shaft handle or the like of a different materialsuch as metal, the problem of securely joining the head` member to themetal member is of prevailing importance. The joint effected must besecure to prevent separation of parts during use with consequent dangerto players and spectators. The joint must be simple, eifective andcapable of being made quickly on a mass production ba- The joint must besightly Without sacrifice of strength and efficiency. Sightliness of thejoint is a cardinal necessity for successful merchandizing because thepurchasers of sporting goods react most favorably to ygoods having atrim graceful appearance. The use of the means and method hereindescribed result in a joint which in no way detracts from the appearanceof the implement. It is an object of the present invention to provide amethod and means for obtaining a joint meeting the foregoingrequirements.

Moreover, especially in golf clubs, splitting of the woden head at theneck caused by flexing of the shaft handle is a frequent occurrence. Itis necessary to eliminate such danger. The joint of 5" this invention isdesigned especially to allow thickening of the neck at the joint. `Thislessens chances of splitting for any reasons and eliminates chances ofsplits caused by flexing. The

strong joint provided b-y this invention throws the shockoaused bystriking the ball well up into the metal shaft handle and relievesstrain on the wooden head. Another advantage of the joint of thisinvention is that it allows the manufacturer to full finish both headsand shafts thereby giving better service to the consumer.

A further advantage of this invention is that repair work is greatlyfacilitated since replacement shafts or club heads can be fully nishedand ready for substitution and quick application to a damaged club.

To the` accomplishment of the fore-going and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear,` this invention consists in the method, constructionand arrangement of parts hereinafter described and then sought to bedened in the appended claims, reference being Y part hereof and had tothe active disclosure, a preferred embodiment of the invention, it beingexpressly understood, however, that various changes may be mad-e inpractice within the scope of the claims Without digressing from theinventive idea.

In the accompanying drawing, in which similar reference charactersdenote corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a ing my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the golf clubshown in Fig. l illustrating golf club embodyin detail the jointstructure serving to unite the head and shaft;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectionalview of the golf club head andother parts illustrating a procedural step in effecting the joint; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the head, shaft andother parts of the joint iil-ustrating a further procedural step ineffecting the joint of this invention.

Referring to the drawing, Il) denotes generally a golf club having ametal shaft I I` and a wooden i head I2 attached thereto.

The shaft II may Ibe solid or tubular. I A flared socket I 3 is providedat the lower end of the shaft. This socket, in the embodiment shown, isintegral with the shaft and in sectional elevation, has thefrustro-conical shape shown in Figs. l, 2 and 4. y x

The head I2 is adapted to be attached to the said shaft II. To this end,the hosel I4 thereof has tapered form with its smallest diameter at itsupper or neck end I5. The outer diameter of the neck end I5 issubstantially equal to the outer diameter of the lower end I3a of thesocket I3.

A bore I6 extends through the entire hosel I4 and terminates at the soleIl of the head. This bore has a diameter so admeasured as to providewalls ida of substantial t 'ckness at the neck end I5 o f. the hosel,the thickness thereof being suiiieient to provide a firm neck I5 and toeliminate any danger of splitting of the hosel during use of the club.

In assembling this head I2 with the shaft II, a member I8 which may beof metal or other suitable material is provided. rIhis member may beeither tubular or solid and has an external di` ameter so admeasured asto fit snugly within the bore l of the head. It is adapted to be drivenor otherwise mounted into place within said -bore I6 and :is soadmeasured in length that it extends the full length of said bore andupwardly at a portion Ita for This member I8 is suitably secured asubstantial distance beyond the 21 in its position and may, for example,be so secured by the set screw I9 screwed into it from the head and bythe set screw 2!! extending through a wall thereof into the head I2 froma plug 2| suitably driven into the bottom Ib of the tube. Other means ofsecuring the tube in its mounted position both against longitudinaldisplacement and rotation may be employed.

An adapter 22 is provided. This adapter is preferably of brass or othersuitable metal. It comprises a tubular member having a bore 23admeasured to receive the portion Io of the member I8. Externally, at22a, this adapter has a configuration complemental to that of theinterior i321 of the socket I3 on the shaft II and it is so admeasuredas to fit within said socket. This adapter 22 is fused, welded, solderedor otherwise suitably secured on the protruding portion lea of member I8with its end 22h abutting the neck end I5 of the hosel. The shaft socketI3 is mounted on the adapter 22 with its end Isa abutting the neck I5 ofthe hosel I4 and soldered, welded or otherwise suitably attached to thesaid adapten In assembling the head equipped with a member I8 to theshaft II, the portion Ia of the member IS may be dipped or otherwisecoated with ux and a molten uniting metal, such as solder which adheresto its surface applied thereto. Similarly, the inner surface 23a of theadapter 22 may be dipped into or coated with iiux and then with moltenuniting metal. While the uniting metal on both parts is in moltencondition the adapter is driven or forced onto the extending portion IBauntil the edge 22h abuts the neck end I5 of the hosel. The parts maythen be cooled, or while still hot, flux and molten uniting metal may beapplied to the external surface 22a of said adapter 22 and to the innersurface |319 of the socket I3. While the metal both on the adapter andon the socket surface is in molten condition, the socket I3 is forced ordriven onto the adapter until the edge Ilia of the socket abuts the neckedge I5. The joined parts may then be suitably cooled. The jointresulting is very strong and will not come apart during play. Theexternal appearance of the joint is one of smooth continuity of linebetween its parts, i. e., between the head I2 and shaft Il. It is to benoted that the thick walls |50, of the hosel neck at I5 will lessen oreliminate chance of splitting caused by flexing of the shaft. Likewise,the strong joint tends to throw the shock.

of striking the ball up into the shaft II relieving the strain on thehead I3. Both the head and the shaft may be full finished by themanufacturer thereby permitting him to give better service. Also, repairwork on golf clubs is greatly accelerated and facilitated since themanufacturer can keep in stock replacement shafts, heads and adapters,it being necessary only to remove the defective part at the joint andreplace it by the corresponding stock part.

It is to be understood that the means and method of joining a wooden anda metal part herein described with respect to a golf club are equallyapplicable to other types of devices such as tennis rackets, ski-poles,pans, pots and other devices wherever it is necessary to join anonmetailic part to a metal part or, in fact, wherever it is necessaryto join two parts together.

It is to be understood further that when metallic bonding of the adapter22 both to the member I8 and to the socket I3 is contemplated, theseparts may be of metal to which bonding metal will adhere or of any othermaterial, each provided on their joining surfaces with a lining to whichbonding metal will adhere.

Various other modifications are contemplated within the scope of theclaims. There is no intention of limitation, therefore, to the exactdetails shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device having two separate parts one of which is of metal andthe other of which is of wood adapted to be joined together, means forso joining said parts comprising a socket on said metallic part, thewooden of said parts having a bore extending through its entire length,a metallic member secured in said bore against rotation anddisplacement, said member extending through the entire length of saidbore and having a portion extending outwardly of said second part, and ametallic adapter having both an outward configuration complemental tothat of the inside of said socket and a bore shaped and admeasured toreceive and t snugly entirely over said extending portion of saidmember, said adapter being permanently united by bonding material tosaid socket and to said extending portion with said socket and saidadapter both abutting said wooden part.

2. In a device as per claim l, in which said adapter is metallicallybonded both to said socket and to said outwardly extending portion ofsaid member.

3. In a device as per claim l, in which said socket, member and adapterare provided with surfaces to which bonding metal will adhere and inwhich said adapter is bonded both in said socket and to said outwardlyextending portion of said member by bonding metal.

4. In a device of the character described having a metal part and awooden part, means for uniting said parts comprising a flared socket onsaid metal part, said wooden part having a hosel portion whose outer endhas substantially the same dimensions as those of the outer end of saidsocket, said wooden part also having a bore extending centrally throughthe length of said hosel and through to the face of said wooden partopposite said hosel, a metallic member admeasured to t snugly in saidbore, extending through its entire length and having a portion extendingoutwardly of said hosel, plug and screw means for securing said memberagainst rotational and longitudinal displacement in said bore, ametallic adapter having an internal bore to receive and snugly tentirely over said extending portion of said member mounted on saidextending portion and abutting said end of said hosel, said adapterbeing tapered outwardly to a shape complemental to that of the inside ofsaid socket and adaptedL to fit therein, said adapter being metallicallybonded to said extending portion and to said socket and said socket endabutting said hosel end to form a smooth continuation thereof in theunited relationship of said two parts and said union serving to throwshock caused by striking a ball or the like well up into the metal partand to relieve strain on the wooden part.

5. In a golf club having a metal shaft and a wooden head, means foruniting said shaft and head comprising a flared socket on said shaft,said head having a hosel portion whose outer end has substantially thesame outer dimensions as those of the outer end of said socket, saidhead also having a longitudinal bore extending centrally through thelength of said hosel and through to the bottom of said head, a tubularinside Wall of said socket metallically united both to said Wall and tosaid tubular metallic member and tting snugly entirely over the latter,said adapter and said outer end of said socket abutting said outer -endof said hosel, and said socket thereby forming a smooth continuation ofsaid hosel in the united relationship of said head and said shaft.

JOHN J. BIRKHOFE-R.

